1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing apparatus for a continuous vacuum treating equipment.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a continuous vacuum treating equipment of a steel strip, a sealing apparatus is installed in a charge opening and a discharge opening of the vacuum treating chamber for isolating the inside of the vacuum treating chamber from the atmospheric air.
It has previously been proposed to provide various types of the sealing apparatus, for example a belt-sealing type as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 63-24067.
In this conventional belt-sealing type of the sealing apparatus, there always exist the clearance between the treating material and the belt, and between the belt and the housing. Therefore, it has not been possible to prevent the atmospheric air from infiltrating into the vacuum treating chamber. Further, the sealing apparatus has been structurally complicate and expensive.